John Gordon Ross

Anyone who works as a freelancer these days has to be at least a bit familiar with techie things. But it isn’t just that. When I was a kid and those vaguely SF puppet shows were on the television and all the other kids wanted to be Greg Gogetem or Steve Savetheuniverse, I wanted to be the guy in a white coat and glasses called Doc or Brains. Here are some technology-related feeds I find useful and/or entertaining.

Mashable » Your guide to the 2017 Oscars, in highly accurate charts

Sunday 26 February 23:53:38 UTC 2017

If you've been meaning to catch the Oscar-nominated films of 2017 before the ceremony, you are sadly out of time. Never fear, our annual collection of highly accurate charts are here to explain what you don't know. SEE ALSO: 10 original songs cut from 'La La Land' for who knows why Quick, scroll through before they start the show so you … [Link]

Slashdot » Is Google's Comment Filtering Tool 'Vanishing' Legitimate Comments?

Sunday 26 February 23:37:00 UTC 2017

Slashdot reader Lauren Weinstein writes: Google has announced (with considerable fanfare) public access to their new "Perspective" comment filtering system API, which uses Google's machine learning/AI system to determine which comments on a site shouldn't be displayed due to perceived high spam/toxicity scores. It's a fascinating effort. And if you run a website that supports comments, I urge you not … [Link]

Mashable » The brilliant way weather geeks paid tribute to 'Twister' star Bill Paxton

Sunday 26 February 23:16:01 UTC 2017

Hundreds of storm chasers and weather geeks mourned the death of U.S. actor Bill Paxton this weekend. Paxton, who was 61, starred alongside Helen Hunt in Twister, the 1996 film that helped inspire a new generation of storm chasers — those thrill-seekers who track down dangerous weather events for the sake of scientific data, a rush of adrenaline, or both.  SEE … [Link]

Mashable » Chance the Rapper buys out every screening of 'Get Out' at theater so fans can watch for free

Sunday 26 February 22:57:29 UTC 2017

He’s got his city doing front flips. That's what happens when you buy out every showing in a movie theater for a day so your fans can see Get Out for free. Chance the Rapper, you're a true American hero.  I bought all the tickets to #GetOut at Chatham Theatre on 87th Just pull up with ID and enjoy the movie. … [Link]

Slashdot » Science Fiction Actor Bill Paxton Dies At Age 61

Sunday 26 February 22:37:00 UTC 2017

Bill Paxton died Saturday at the age of 61 after complications from surgery. An anonymous reader remembers Paxton's work with some YouTube clips: Bill Paxton starred in a surprising number of cult science fiction favorites. After playing both the blue-haired punk rocker who confronts The Terminator and the mean older brother in John Hughes' nerd comedy Weird Science, Paxton was … [Link]

Mashable » NASCAR drivers wears badass 'Star Wars' helmet

Sunday 26 February 21:53:35 UTC 2017

While NASCAR fans will be focused on Sunday's big Daytona 500 race, a driver on Saturday got plenty of love for his badass helmet.  SEE ALSO: The 5 best Star Wars Lego sets coming this spring Brennan Poole drove Saturday's Powershares QQQ 300 while wearing a helmet painted to resemble Luke Sywalker's headgear from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. … [Link]

Slashdot » Google Discloses Yet Another New Unpatched Microsoft Vulnerability In Edge/IE

Sunday 26 February 21:37:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes BleepingComputer: Google has gone public with details of a second unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft products, this time in Edge and Internet Explorer, after last week they've published details about a bug in the Windows GDI (Graphics Device Interface) component… The bug, discovered by Google Project Zero researcher Ivan Fratric, is tracked by the CVE-2017-0037 identifier and … [Link]

Mashable » Half of the world's species could become extinct, biologists say

Sunday 26 February 21:31:27 UTC 2017

Here’s the sobering truth: Around half the species on Earth today could disappear by middle of the century, unless we humans can tackle climate change and slow our population growth. That's a view shared by leading biologists and ecologists, many of whom are gathering in the Vatican this week for a wonky but optimistic-sounding conference: "How To Save the Natural World … [Link]

Mashable » Sean Spicer was once a terrifying White House Easter Bunny

Sunday 26 February 20:55:52 UTC 2017

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is having one hell of a weekend. He riled up journalists with his decision to exclude certain outlets from a press gaggle, he's targeting his own staff for leaks, and he got in a fight with a journalist over where he was born. SEE ALSO: Sean Spicer's WHOIS data is public for everyone to see … [Link]

Slashdot » Apache Subversion Fails SHA-1 Collision Test, Exploit Moves Into The Wild

Sunday 26 February 20:37:00 UTC 2017

WebKit's bug-tracker now includes a comment from Friday noting "the bots all are red" on their git-svn mirror site, reporting an error message about a checksum mismatch for shattered-2.pdf. "In some cases, due to the corruption, further commits are blocked," reports the official "Shattered" web site. Slashdot reader Artem Tashkinov explains its significance: A WebKit developer who tried to upload … [Link]

Mashable » This giraffe birth livestream is driving the internet insane

Sunday 26 February 20:04:01 UTC 2017

The internet may occasionally come to your rescue, but it is not patient.  Earlier this week, viewers rallied around a YouTube livestream of a pregnant giraffe named April waiting to give birth at the Animal Adventure Park in New York. The stream was briefly taken down following explicit content reports from pranksters, but under pressure from the web, YouTube quickly … [Link]

Mashable » Oh hey, Nokia's releasing some underwhelming Android phones

Sunday 26 February 19:55:26 UTC 2017

Nokia is back — sort of. The famous Finnish company is now owned by HMD, but it had a major presence at this year's Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. It was the perfect balance of hype, novelty and nostalgia — the goal being to convince journalists that HMD is taking this whole Nokia thing seriously.  And while the pinnacle of … [Link]

Slashdot » Open Source Car-Hacking Tool Successfully Crowdfunded

Sunday 26 February 19:37:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader writes: Two geeks are crowdfunding an open source car hacking tool that will allow builders to experiment with diagnostics, telematics, security, and prototyping. "Cars have become complicated and expensive to work with," they explain on a Kickstarter page. "Macchina wants to use open source hardware to help break down these barriers and get people tinkering with their … [Link]

Mashable » NASA's TRAPPIST-1 discoveries were predicted by a video game

Sunday 26 February 19:25:23 UTC 2017

Way to steal NASA's thunder, video games. The entire internet is still buzzing about the discovery of seven Earth-sized planets in a "nearby" star system — it's only about 40 light-years, or 235 trillion miles, away. In galactic terms, that's pretty much right next door. SEE ALSO: The sci-fi propulsion system that will get us to TRAPPIST-1 fastest Unfortunately for NASA, … [Link]

Mashable » Samsung just released an official Galaxy S8 teaser

Sunday 26 February 19:09:20 UTC 2017

Dying to see Samsung's new Galaxy S8 phone? Well, there's good news and bad news. It'll be a little while before we get an official glimpse of the device, but a 30-second teaser video shown during the company's press conference at Mobile World Congress Sunday suggests we won't have to wait very long. SEE ALSO: Everything we think we know about … [Link]

ProgrammableWeb.com » Burner Launches New REST API with OAuth 2.0 Support

Sunday 26 February 18:46:29 UTC 2017

Burner, a consumer phone number and communications platform by Ad Hoc Labs, has announced the launch of the new Burner REST API with OAuth 2.0 support. Developers can use the Burner REST API to integrate Burner platform capabilities with third-party applications. [Link]

Mashable » Guy quits his crappy job in the best way possible

Sunday 26 February 18:44:55 UTC 2017

Sometimes, you need to go out with a bang. Or a flush. Giving two weeks is a pretty standard practice when employees move on from their current job. It allows the company a short amount of time to search for a replacement, and gives the employee an opportunity to leave on good standing. You never know when you may need that … [Link]

Slashdot » 94% of Microsoft Vulnerabilities Can Be Mitigated By Turning Off Admin Rights

Sunday 26 February 18:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Computerworld: If you want to shut out the overwhelming majority of vulnerabilities in Microsoft products, turn off admin rights on the PC. That's the conclusion from global endpoint security firm Avecto, which has issued its annual Microsoft Vulnerabilities report. It found that there were 530 Microsoft vulnerabilities reported in 2016, and of these critical vulnerabilities, 94% … [Link]

Mashable » 'Get Out' is absolutely killing at the box office

Sunday 26 February 18:13:55 UTC 2017

For a movie that director Jordan Peele thought would never get made, Get Out sure is off to a fine start. The TV comic-turned-big screen filmmaker's directorial debut pulled in an estimated $30.5 million domestically this weekend. The Stepford Wives-inspired horror film about the myth of a post-racial America was propelled to success by Sundance buzz and a glowing response from … [Link]

Mashable » Legendary Nokia 3310 returns with color screen and good old Snake

Sunday 26 February 18:02:38 UTC 2017

This year's Mobile World Congress is all about nostalgia.  Take HMD, for instance: The company showed three new Android phones, but the one that got the most attention was the rebooted Nokia 3310, which is essentially a lowly, cheap feature phone.  SEE ALSO: Moto G5 and G5 Plus redefine the meaning of budget phones This is because the original Nokia 3310 … [Link]

Mashable » Samsung's new tablets are out to destroy the iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4

Sunday 26 February 18:00:00 UTC 2017

With no Galaxy S8 announcement at Mobile World Congress this year, Samsung turned to its Android and Windows 10 tablets to fill the void.  The Korean electronics giant announced two new tablets at the trade show in Barcelona: The Android-powered Galaxy Tab S3 and the Windows 10-powered Galaxy Book, which will be available in 10.6- and 12-inch models. SEE ALSO: Leaked … [Link]

Slashdot » The US Department Of Defense Announces An Open Source Code Repository

Sunday 26 February 17:34:00 UTC 2017

"The Pentagon is the latest government entity to join the open-source movement," writes NextGov. An anonymous reader quotes their report: The Defense Department this week launched Code.mil, a public site that will eventually showcase unclassified code written by federal employees. Citizens will be able to use that code for personal and public projects… The Defense Department's Digital Service team, whose … [Link]

Mashable » Taco Bell ditched the Naked Chicken Chalupa, so here's how to make your own

Sunday 26 February 17:28:54 UTC 2017

Last month, Taco Bell unleashed the Naked Chicken Chalupa, which is basically just a deep-fried piece of chicken shaped like a taco shellWe lovingly called it "the grossest fast food invention yet." The concoction was short-lived, because just a few weeks later, the Bell decided to remove the fried masterpiece from its menu, with the promise that it would one … [Link]

Mashable » The one thing that says everything about Bill Paxton's badass career

Sunday 26 February 17:00:34 UTC 2017

Bill Paxton leaves behind the legacy of a total badass. The actor, who died unexpectedly on Saturday, has the unusual and entirely amazing distinction of being the only actor to play characters killed by a Terminator, a Predator and a Xenomorph (of Alien fame). SEE ALSO: Bill Paxton, star of '80s and '90s genre films and TV, dead at 61 The … [Link]

Mashable » That time a German submarine was plopped in the middle of Central Park

Sunday 26 February 17:00:00 UTC 2017

The captured U-boat SM UC-5 is prepared for display in Central Park.IMage: Library of CongressBefore the United States’ late entry into World War I, the federal government devised a plan to finance the massive war effort. One third of the funding would come from the imposition of progressive new taxes, while two thirds would come from selling “Liberty Bonds” to the … [Link]

Mashable » What to expect from Instagram's glitzy portrait studio at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party

Sunday 26 February 16:42:33 UTC 2017

The stars will get their glamour shots before taking (and hopefully posting) some less refined, champagne-drunk Oscar selfies this year. Photographer Mark Seliger will once again step behind the lens at the famed Vanity Fair Oscar Party, teaming up with Instagram for the fourth year in a row. This time, the set will be inspired by Hollywood in the 1920s, so … [Link]

Slashdot » Did Silicon Valley Lose The Race To Build Self-Driving Cars?

Sunday 26 February 16:34:00 UTC 2017

schwit1 quotes Autoblog: Up until very recently the talk in Silicon Valley was about how the tech industry was going to broom Detroit into the dustbin of history. Companies such as Apple, Google, and Uber — so the thinking went — were going to out run, out gun, and out innovate the automakers. Today that talk is starting to fade. … [Link]

Mashable » MashReads Podcast: George Saunders' 'Lincoln in the Bardo' is a perfect novel

Sunday 26 February 16:11:27 UTC 2017

George Saunders has a rule for art: "If you do it right, it's almost like this beautiful prism, and no matter what the time is, you can shine a light through it and it will make some sense." It's an apt description and an excellent way to describe Saunders' newest book Lincoln in the Bardo, a postmodern novel that's both incredibly … [Link]

Mashable » This crazy-thin phone charger is the size of three stacked credit cards

Sunday 26 February 16:03:33 UTC 2017

I like my gadgets bleeding edge, and I'm not going to lie: I'm a huge sucker when it comes to companies shrinking things down to fit into your wallet. Whenever I hear "It's the size of a business card," I'm basically already caught in some company's tractor beam. SEE ALSO: Kim Kardashian would love the BlackBerry KEYone Take the Kado Wallet, … [Link]

Mashable » Bill Paxton, star of '80s and '90s genre films and TV, dead at 61

Sunday 26 February 15:58:28 UTC 2017

Bill Paxton, the versatile and beloved character actor whose presence across dozens of genre films and blockbusters in the '80s and '90s made him a uniquely familiar face, has died, Mashable has confirmed. He was 61. Paxton died Saturday, with the cause cited as "complications from surgery" in a statement from his family: Paxton's may not have been the biggest household … [Link]

Mashable » Moto G5 and G5 Plus redefine the meaning of budget phones

Sunday 26 February 15:45:00 UTC 2017

You shouldn't have take out a loan in order to buy a premium phone.  Sure, monthly installment plans have made it easier to buy a phone instead of forking over a ridiculous sum upfront, but the total cost is still a lot. SEE ALSO: Kim Kardashian would love the BlackBerry KEYone Motorola's best-selling phones, the budget Moto G series, have always … [Link]

Mashable » Up close with the powerful DJI drone that could change business

Sunday 26 February 15:45:00 UTC 2017

Drones are becoming big business. Now they’re on the precipice of becoming part of business big and small. DJI — a company that has built drones for entry-level fliers (the Mavic Pro), prosumers (the Phantom line) and  photo and cinematography professionals (Inspire) — is hoping to ignite the drone-in-business revolution with its first business-class drone, the M200.  SEE ALSO: Forget taxis; Dubai … [Link]

Mashable » Grandmother screams bloody murder during her first VR roller coaster ride

Sunday 26 February 15:39:02 UTC 2017

One of the best new YouTube trends may be watching old people experience VR for the first time. While this video of an 83-year-old grandmother riding a VR roller coaster ride starts off innocently enough, things take a turn as soon as this poor woman hits the top of the first hill. Pro tip: If an elderly person ever says, … [Link]

Slashdot » Professors Claim Passive Cooling Breakthrough Via Plastic Film

Sunday 26 February 15:34:00 UTC 2017

What if you could cool buildings without using electricity? charlesj68 brings word of "the development of a plastic film by two professors at the University of Colorado in Boulder that provides a passive cooling effect." The film contains embedded glass beads that absorb and emit infrared in a wavelength that is not blocked by the atmosphere. Combining this with half-silvering … [Link]

Mashable » Jerk alligator steals a huge fish off a little boy's line

Sunday 26 February 15:07:51 UTC 2017

Today, a little boy named Connor learned the brutal lesson that Mother Nature has no manners. In a clip posted to the Bass Masters And Fish Experts Facebook Page, a thieving alligator had an easy lunch thanks to some humans fishing off a pier. In the clip, a young boy hooks a pretty sizable fish, and as one man encourages the … [Link]

Mashable » How to knit your own chunky blanket with your hands

Sunday 26 February 15:00:00 UTC 2017

‘Ohhio Braid' lets you knit your own blanket with your arms. It's made out of cotton and siliconized microfibers, making it soft and laundry-friendly. You can also use it to knit a basket for your pet. Read more…More about Real Time Video, Real Time Video, Real Time, Arm Knitting, and Knit With Your Arms [Link]

Mashable » All-star Gorillaz fan gets Damon Albarn to confirm new album is done

Sunday 26 February 14:53:15 UTC 2017

Now this is how you fan. When music blogger Jack Winstanley ran into Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn, he didn't just geek out on his own behalf. He reported back and made some news. SEE ALSO: Trump inspires a new era of music — protesting against him Albarn confirmed, per Winstanley's tweets, that the fifth Gorillaz album is officially done and that … [Link]

Mashable » The Huawei Watch 2 is a sporty Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch with tons of features

Sunday 26 February 14:45:37 UTC 2017

After the initial smartwatch craze subsided, it became clear that consumers are more interested in the fitness aspects of these devices than the bling factor.  This changed how these gadgets were made and marketed, and Huawei's new Watch 2 is no exception.  Just launched as part of the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona, the Huawei Watch 2 is a sporty, … [Link]

Mashable » Huawei's new flagship P10 phones certainly look familiar

Sunday 26 February 14:37:03 UTC 2017

Every phonemaker is trying to "innovate" in the same way in 2017, with sleek devices that are basically all screen and glass.  But Huawei, the third largest smartphone maker in the world, isn't playing that game. The company just launched its new flagships, the P10 and the P10 Plus, at a Mobile World congress event in Barcelona, and these phones aren't … [Link]

Slashdot » UK Police Arrest Suspect Behind Mirai Malware Attacks On Deutsche Telekom

Sunday 26 February 14:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader writes: "German police announced Thursday that fellow UK police officers have arrested a suspect behind a serious cyber-attack that crippled German ISP Deutsche Telekom at the end of November 2016," according to BleepingComputer. "The attack in question caused over 900,000 routers of various makes and models to go offline after a mysterious attacker attempted to hijack the … [Link]

Mashable » These strange 1917 photos were supposed to teach businessmen how to get in shape for success

Sunday 26 February 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Image: Library of Congress via Internet ArchiveImpressive carriage and appearance are much needed by those who would succeed in the business world. Undeniably the reader who could appear before another man looking exactly like the illustration would secure his host’s attention instantly.H. Irving Hancock, 'Physical Training for Business Men'These illustrations were created by photographer A.B Phelan to accompany H. Irving Hancock’s … [Link]

Mashable » 'Ring of fire' solar eclipse will blaze across the Southern Hemisphere

Sunday 26 February 12:27:06 UTC 2017

A "ring of fire" eclipse will be visible from the Southern Hemisphere on Sunday morning, although anyone can catch the spectacle live via the space site Slooh.com. Sunday's solar phenomenon is known as an annular eclipse. It happens when the moon slides in between the sun and the Earth but doesn't completely block the sun, as would a total solar eclipse.  … [Link]

Slashdot » Slooh Observatory Is Webcasting Today's Rare 'Ring of Fire' Eclipse

Sunday 26 February 12:00:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Space.com A solar eclipse and its spectacular "ring of fire" will be visible from the Southern Hemisphere this Sunday morning, but no matter what side of the equator you're on, you can watch the spectacular event unfold online in a live broadcast from Slooh's online observatory…beginning at 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT)… This type of eclipse … [Link]

Mashable » Google Assistant is finally coming to a lot more Android devices

Sunday 26 February 12:00:00 UTC 2017

You no longer need a Pixel to use Google Assistant on your smartphone. Google is finally expanding its Assistant to phones beyond the Pixel line. The company is starting to roll out the intelligent assistant feature to nearly all phones running Android Marshmallow and Nougat (some low-end devices excepted.) SEE ALSO: Hey, Siri: How'd you and every other digital assistant get … [Link]

Mashable » LG G6 ushers in a new era of smartphones with huge screens

Sunday 26 February 12:00:00 UTC 2017

How much bigger can your smartphone screen become? You're about to get the answer. LG just announced a new flagship phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona — the LG G6. Although it's not all screen on the front, it's pretty damn close. And it's widely rumored that Apple and Samsung will also try to reach that goal on their … [Link]

Slashdot » The Videogame Industry Is Fighting 'Right To Repair' Laws

Sunday 26 February 4:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Motherboard: The video game industry is lobbying against legislation that would make it easier for gamers to repair their consoles and for consumers to repair all electronics more generally. The Entertainment Software Association, a trade organization that includes Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, as well as dozens of video game developers and publishers, is opposing a "right to … [Link]

Slashdot » How Cable Monopolies Hurt ISP Customers

Sunday 26 February 4:34:00 UTC 2017

"New York subscribers have had to overpay month after month for services that Spectrum deliberately didn't provide," reports Backchannel — noting these practices are significant because together Comcast and Charter (formerly Time Warner Cable) account for half of America's 92 million high-speed internet connections. An anonymous reader quotes Backchannel: Based on the company's own documents and statements, it appears that … [Link]

Mashable » Who is this random guy Fox News had on to talk about Swedish security?

Sunday 26 February 3:59:42 UTC 2017

A trans-Atlantic wave of puzzlement is rippling across Sweden for the second time in a week, after a prominent Fox News program featured a "Swedish defense and national security advisor" who's unknown to the country's military and foreign-affairs officials. Swedes, and some Americans, have been wondering about representations of the Nordic nation in the U.Ssince President Donald Trump invoked "what's … [Link]

Slashdot » GitHub Invites Contributions To 'Open Source Guides'

Sunday 26 February 2:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes InfoQ: GitHub has recently launched its Open Source Guides, a collection of resources addressing the most common scenarios and best practices for both contributors and maintainers of open source projects. The guides themselves are open source and GitHub is actively inviting developers to participate and share their stories… "Open source is complicated, especially for newcomers. Experienced … [Link]

Mashable » LG claims the battery on its X Power2 phone lasts the whole weekend

Sunday 26 February 2:27:33 UTC 2017

Frustrated with smartphone batteries that last only half a day? LG's new smartphone, the company claims, is a whole-weekend piece of hardware.  The LG X Power2 — a new product in the company's "specialist" line — has a monstrous 4,500 mAh battery, which allows for 15 hours of video playback or 18 hours of web surfing, per LG's claims.  SEE ALSO: … [Link]

Mashable » America doesn't care anymore, detains beloved children's book author

Sunday 26 February 1:29:40 UTC 2017

Imagine how America would react if Australia was mean to the late Maurice Sendak or even Eric Carle, author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  That's how the latter feels now, after hearing that beloved children's book author Mem Fox was apparently left in tears after being detained for hours at Los Angeles Airport and accused of having the wrong visa in … [Link]

Slashdot » Ask Slashdot: How Are You Responding To Cloudbleed?

Sunday 26 February 0:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous IT geek writes: Cloudflare-hosted web sites have been leaking data as far back as September, according to Gizmodo, which reports that at least Cloudflare "acted fast" when the leak was discovered, closing the hole within 44 minutes, and working with search engines to purge their caches. (Though apparently some of it is still lingering…) Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince … [Link]

Mashable » Perfect 6-for-6 sweep: 'Moonlight' walks through the Indie Spirits

Sunday 26 February 0:17:48 UTC 2017

In the beginning, there was Moonlight. At the end, there was also Moonlight. Writer/director Barry Jenkins' deeply resonant cinematic tryptich of a young Miami man's life won all six Independent Spirit Awards for which it was nominated Saturday — including the first award given away, and the last — a triumphant result for the film many hope can upset La La … [Link]

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